Rob Woodall on Immigration

Without a secure border we lose our sovereignty

I am a strong supporter of legal immigration. As legal immigrants know, we are also a nation of laws, and illegal immigration has no place in America.

The responsibility of safe-guarding our nation and securing our borders is exclusively the job of th
Federal government and, sadly, the Federal government has failed to aggressively enforce these laws. A country that cannot maintain a secure border has lost its sovereignty. "Immigration reform" must begin with the securing of America's border.

Redefine "birthright citizenship" to exclude illegal aliens.

Woodall co-sponsored Birthright Citizenship Act

Congressional Summary: Acknowledging the right of birthright citizenship established by section 1 of the 14th amendment to the Constitution, amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider a person born in the United States "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States for citizenship at birth purposes if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is:

a U.S. citizen or national;

a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States; or

an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Constitutional Authority Statement: Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Section 5 of the Amendment XIV to the Constitution and Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution.

OnTheIssues Explanation:The relevant part of this law is what is NOT in the list above: illegal aliens or undocumented workers. Those groups are this bill's target: it addresses the issue of "anchor babies," wherein non-citizen mothers cross the US border and give birth in the US and thereby establish citizenship for their newborn. If passed, this bill will likely face a Supreme Court challenge on its constitutionality, since the 14th Amendment defines citizens as "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." That clause was written after the Civil War to establish citizenship for former slaves; this bill reinterprets that clause to mean that not everyone born in the US automatically becomes a citizen. The cited authorization of the 14th Amendment is "Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."

No birthright citizenship unless one parent is an American.

Woodall co-sponsored Birthright Citizenship Act

Congressional Summary:Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider a person born in the United States "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States for citizenship at birth purposes if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is:

a U.S. citizen or national,

a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States, or

an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Explanation from OpenCongress.org:This bill would eliminate birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Current U.S. law automatically recognizes any person born on American soil as a natural born citizen. Under the bill, only children with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen, a legal permanent resident, or an undocumented immigrant serving in the military would be considered citizens.